Explore. Engage. Learn.

Month: May 2015

If anyone has visited the TCHS website within the past couple of weeks, you may have noticed a black screen looking something like this:

Don’t worry, it won’t be like that forever! It is with great excitement that we announce our new website! While our former site served us well, it was important to deliver a better user experience to our visitors, bringing more intuitive navigation and a more simplified way to discover the Tioga County Historical Society

We are in the process of building a new, modern website that will be debuting in the weeks to come. The new website will make it easier to understand our wide range of services, programs and capabilities. We want our visitors to be able to find information easily. At the same time, we hope to attract new visitors to our wonderful museum.

While the new website won’t be made public for several weeks, we wanted to give a little preview to our blog followers!

Our new site will provide convenient ways to interact with the museum. Visitors will be able to donate, sign up for memberships, find contact information, and ask research questions directly through the website.

If you have ever been interested in attending an event, exploring an exhibit, or performing research through the museum, information about all these activities will be readily available. In addition, visitors will be able to sign up for our listserv, find out about volunteer opportunities, and discover our gift shop.

TCHS is very excited to unveil our new website. While it is under construction, the old site is still available to answer any of your questions. Just visit http://www.tiogahistory.org/Site/HOME.html. You can also receive updates from our Facebook page.

We hope you enjoyed this preview of the new TCHS website! Once the new site is up, feel free to explore and tell us what you think!

The Tioga County Historical Society had an exciting day last Saturday! Not only was it “History Day” with kid’s crafts and activities, but the museum also received a special visit. That morning, staff members were busy preparing the museum for “History Day”. Kevin and Thomas were writing out instructions for activities, and setting up tables. Martin was bringing up chairs. I was hanging up signs, and trying to promote the event one last time on Facebook.

We were moving along at a good pace when at 10:30, the doors to the museum opened and a small group entered. We welcomed them to look around our exhibits, and to let us know if they had any questions. Instead, they walked up to the painting of Judge Stephen Strong, and stopped.

Stephen Strong was born in Lebanon, Connecticut in 1791, and came to Owego in 1814. He was district attorney for the county from 1836 to 1838 and from 1844 to 1847. He sat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1847 and became County Judge in 1855. For many years he had a law office on Front Street in Owego. He died in 1866.

Our visitors had a special connection to the painting. Judge Strong was their ancestor, and the painting had belonged to their family. They remembered that the painting had hung in their Grandmother’s house, and that she had donated it (along with a number of other paintings) to the Museum many years ago. The family had come in to visit the paintings and share them with their spouses and children.

Needless to say, we were delighted that they had come in to visit and share their story. The picture below shows our visitors with the painting of their ancestor, Judge Stephen Strong.

We are so proud to be a part of their family legacy. We hope to keep this painting preserved so that more generations can visit and learn about Judge Stephen Strong. Come see the painting in person at the Tioga County Historical Society! We are open Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday 10 am-4 pm, and Thursdays from 10 am-8 pm!

-Staci Becker, Marketing and Communications Coordinator

Our Mission

Our mission is to make history a living presence in people's lives. The Tioga County Historical Society is an educational organization which collects, preserves, and interprets the history of Tioga County.